For Immediate Release: 12/18/2020 4:16 pm
The City of Worcester has released the following COVID-19 update:
To date, there have been 12,785 overall confirmed positive cases in Worcester. That is an increase in 1,390 cases since the City’s last COVID update on Thursday, Dec. 10.
There were 128 new cases today.
Positive case counts in surrounding towns: Shrewsbury: 1,224 (increase of 228); Holden: 578 (increase of 82); Grafton: 483 (increase of 80); Leicester: 496 (increase of 75).
UMass Memorial Health Care and Saint Vincent Hospital, as of Thursday, Dec. 10, have a combined total of 238 COVID-positive in-patients (increase of 46) and 56 total COVID- positive ICU patients (increase of 16). To date, the combined facilities have had 428 COVID-related deaths (increase of 20). A total of 1,084 employees have tested positive for the virus (increase of 150). All changes are from last week’s report.
There have been 321 deaths of Worcester residents, an increase of 8 since last week. A total of 15 Worcester residents have died in the past two weeks.
There were 31 positive in-patients at the DCU Field Hospital as of Friday, Dec. 18.
There are currently 38 positive COVID cases among City employees and 25 in quarantine, for a total of 63.
CASES BY AGE
19-under: 1,572 (13%)
20-29: 2,176 (18%)
30-39: 2,088 (17%)
40-49: 1,840 (15%)
50-59: 1,879 (15%)
60-69: 1,264 (10%)
70-up: 1,579 (13%)
The number of confirmed cases among the 19-under age group has increased by 1 percent since the last report.
Since Thanksgiving, the City of Worcester, like the rest of the state, has seen a notable increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases. The week before Thanksgiving, Nov. 20-28, the City’s 7-day average case count was just above 92 per day. This past week, Dec. 11-17, the number had almost double to just over 181 cases per day.
The continue increase in COVID-19 cases has put a strain on the City’s hospital systems, with more COVID-19-positive individuals being hospitalized and more patients in the ICU.
The City is urging all residents to celebrate their Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa holidays differently this year. It is necessary if we are to avoid the spike we have seen since Thanksgiving, and it will help ease the strain on our hospitals. You can find ways to celebrate the December holidays safely at mass.gov.
The state COVID Enforcement Intervention Team, which conducts COVID-19 educational outreach in communities throughout Massachusetts, disseminated 21,925 masks, 4,498 disinfectant wipes, 9,960 flyers and 59 business signs in Worcester last weekend.
Free, walk-up COVID-19 testing will be available in Worcester next week on Monday, Dec. 21 and Tuesday, Dec. 22, 10:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., at Mercantile Center, 201 Commercial St. Testing will also be available at Mercantile Center Monday, Dec. 28 and Tuesday, Dec. 29, 10:30 – 3 p.m.
